President Joe Biden’s administration is telling Americans who are stranded in Afghanistan to pay for their own passage back to the U.S.
“Repatriation flights are not free, and passengers will be required to sign a promissory loan agreement and may not be eligible to renew their U.S. passports until the loan is repaid,” the Overseas Security Advisory Council noted in its security alert for Afghanistan. “The cost may be $2,000 USD or more per person.”
State Dept's Overseas Security Advisory Council said Aug. 14: "Repatriation flights are not free, & passengers will be required to sign a promissory loan agreement & may not be eligible to renew their U.S. passports til the loan is repaid. Cost may be $2,000 or more per person." https://t.co/K9bb3xtoYE pic.twitter.com/2pPo3n64dJ
— Jerry Dunleavy (@JerryDunleavy) August 19, 2021
“The Biden admin is giving illegal immigrants free plane tickets to anywhere in the US but forcing Americans trapped in a terrorist-controlled country pay $2k to fly home,” Rep. Jim Banks tweeted.
The Biden admin is giving illegal immigrants free plane tickets to anywhere in the US but forcing Americans trapped in a terrorist-controlled country pay $2k to fly home. https://t.co/JOakkVfj6g
— Jim Banks (@RepJimBanks) August 19, 2021
U.S. law currently requires that any evacuation of U.S. citizens or other third-country nationals be done “on a reimbursable basis to the maximum extent practicable.”
“For evacuation transportation that we arrange to transport you out of a crisis location, you do not have to pay before you board,” the State Department website notes. “To board these transports, you will need to complete and sign a form promising to repay the U.S. government.”
According to the State Department, any evacuees will be required to pay a fee “based on the cost of a full fare economy flight, or comparable alternate transportation, to the designated destination(s) that would have been charged immediately prior to the events giving rise to the evacuation.”
Costs, the site claims, could differ depending on where evacuation flights go but evacuees are encouraged to pay for and “leave on the first transport they are able and eligible to board.”
As of Thursday afternoon, Biden’s State Department Spokesman Ned Price still could not provide reporters with the number of Americans who are stuck in Afghanistan and were left at the mercy of the Taliban.
Biden State Department Spokesman Ned Price doesn’t know how many Americans have been evacuated from Afghanistan pic.twitter.com/KzmO4ItUKZ
— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) August 19, 2021
